My almost 4 year old son was diagnosed 2 weeks ago

He's had two checks since then at Children's. Was scheduled to go back in June, but we now have a lab draw and a doctor visit for tomorrow. His counts were 18 on 4/21, 25 on 4/22 and 25 on 4/29, and by the third draw, the petechiae were almost gone, and he just had normal, fair skinned 3 year old bruises on his legs. As of last night, he looks like he's been fighting and loosing. The petechiae are everywhere... even a handful in his mouth. His doc has already mentioned IViG if he drops to where he was at the start or lower, so now I'm just worried. Single mom (we have a protective order on his father), no family close, and I also have his 5 year old big sister who has been awesome through it all so far (she won't let him do anything he's not supposed to and tells on him promptly when he does it anyways and tries to mommy him) He calls his petechiae his ITP's, and he has also brought up that he has a lot of them. And he has no clue about the ones behind his ears or on his scalp.

I'm just a nervous wreck, being that I have no idea what to expect tomorrow. And now that the kids are asleep, I have no reason to put on a brave face and no one to distract me from all the questions that are springing up in my mind. This all just sucks.

I'm sorry about your son. The good thing is that most of the time, ITP is acute in children and within a year or so (usually sooner), it can go away. Many children acquire ITP after an illness or vaccine.

I know you're worried, but most children do well with low counts and many do not even treat. The decision of whether or not to treat is up to the parents and the doctor. Some are comfortable with that and some are not.

IVIG is a temporary treatment. It can work within a few days to get counts up but they generally only stay up for a week or two. Make sure they hydrate him well before and after the IV as it can prevent side effects.

Keep reading the stories here. You will see many success stories and many experiences.

Thanks, Sandi. His count was 7. I have a 'script "just in case" for prednisone for him, and all these scenarios and what I'm to do if anything happens. Scheduled for a lab in two weeks if all goes well, but my lawyer wants a draw next week, because she has read up and doesn't want him seeing his dad if he is below a 10, and with his history, I'm with her.

I'd raise that number to 30k or supervised visits if abuse is a concern. Maybe you could discuss that with his doctor.

Yesterday, he woke up with a couple of brand spanking new purpura in his mouth. Hemo had us start the prednisone... he's had 3 of his ten doses so far. New set of labs on Monday. I accessed our account at Children's, so my mom, who's been an RN 40+ years is going to take a gander. Running into transportation troubles, so we have to go by bus and train on Monday. He's still his same old self, so there's that to contend with. I hate, despise and loathe ITP.